Tag Archives: Kitsap County Sheriff

In his former life as a Washington state trooper, Kitsap
County Sheriff Steve Boyer recalls watching a motorist one day
drive around a Walmart parking lot, encircling it several times at
about three miles an hour.

Round and round the car went, until Boyer’s hit his overhead
lights and brought the car from its crawl to a halt.

The driver was stoned, Boyer recalled.

The sheriff used the story to explain to me his mixed feelings
about Initiative 502, which would legalize the possession of
marijuana for adults 21 and over. The driver was certainly not the
worst he’d ever seen, having responded to too many alcohol-fueled
fatality crashes. But he looks at the issue from a public health
standpoint: would Washingtonians be better off if they could
purchase weed at a store?

“Do you really want to add it to the mix” of our currently
legalized libations? he asked.

“I think it deserves a dialogue and discussion,” he said. “Not
just rhetoric.”

He believes that medical marijuana, whose patients in this state
have long operated in a legal gray area, can help people. And he
does not view pot as a scourge on society in the same way as, say,
meth or heroin have been.

“Marijuana being an evil weed causing all the problems in this
country? I don’t buy that,” he said.

But here’s why he’s voting no:

The plant remains a so-called Schedule 1 narcotic — meaning it
has a high potential for abuse and has no value medically — in the
eyes of the federal government.

Use of any substance not prescribed for medical use — legal or
illegal — “do not usually make a person’s life better,” he
said.

He doubts the criminal justice system will save money by not
having to prosecute simple marijuana possession. “There are very
few people in jail for recreational marijuana,” he said.

Boyer reiterated his willingness to continue the discuss and
that he could change his mind about possible future initiatives.
For now, he’s still weighing the issues, but isn’t ready to vote to
end marijuana prohibition.

Fifty bottles of high end liquor were removed from a car
police believe belongs to one of three women who
stole it from area Safeway stores, Port Orchard Police Cmdr.
Geoffrey Marti told me this morning.

The bottles were mostly in the $50 price range, Marti said. A
detective obtained a search warrant and served it on the car, found
by police at the Port Orchard Safeway, Thursday afternoon.

Long story short, the three women, who have yet to be charged
with a crime, are accused of stealing the liquor from Safeway
stores all across the county, from Bainbridge Island to Port
Orchard. They were arrested in Port Orchard but released Tuesday as
the investigation developed.

Police say the trio, two Seattle women age 23 and 21 and a
21-year-old Kent woman, have been caught on camera and by store
security loading shoulder bags and shopping carts full of liquor
and then attempting to leave the stores. Up until early Monday,
they’d avoided apprehension.

But early Monday — after the women were alleged to have made off
with more than $600 worth of mostly Crown Royal from the Bainbridge
Island Safeway on High School Road — the suspects showed up at the
Bethel Road Safeway in Port Orchard, 36 miles away.

There, an officer, notified by Bethel Road store’s employees and
Bainbridge officers, confronted the three. In interviews with Port
Orchard officers, two denied the thefts and a third declined to
talk to police. Police located a vehicle in the parking lot that
had numerous bottles of liquor, including Crown Royal with security
devices attached to them.

In total, the three are alleged to have attempted to take or
make off with liquor in the past week at Safeways in Bainbridge,
Port Orchard, East Bremerton and West Bremerton. Police say they
might have stolen from some stores more than once.

The case is now being coordinated by a Kitsap County Sheriff’s
detective, Marti added. We’ll keep you posted.

Blogger’s note: the photo on this post comes from the
Bremerton Safeway’s attempted liquor theft by the same suspects
Sept. 3.

Krista McDonald — the Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputy and
hero on that January day when a Utah man shot two of her fellow
deputies at Walmart — was awarded the sheriff’s office’s highest
honor at a ceremony in September.

McDonald was awarded the medal of valor by Kitsap County Sheriff
Steve Boyer.

“The actions of Deputy Krista McDonald saved the lives of two
wounded deputies, most likely her own life, and eliminated an
imminent threat to public safety and the lives of civilians who
were in the immediate vicinity,” Boyer said. “These actions are
acts of exceptional professionalism as well as heroism in the face
of grave danger.”

Seeing two of her fellow officers wounded by a Utah fugitive,
Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputy Krista McDonald engaged the suspect,
Anthony A. Martinez, hitting him in the knee with a hollow-point
bullet fired from her .40-caliber Glock, bringing him to the ground
from 60 feet away.

Also awarded for their heroics in the Jan. 23 incident at the
sheriff’s awards banquet:

A sheriff’s certificate of appreciation was awarded to David
Wilson, a Harrison Medical Center nurse who helped at the scene
before medics arrived.

Deputies Troy Graunke and Mark Gundrum and reserve deputy Darryl
Barnes were awarded sheriff’s commendation for their response to
the scene.

And last, but most certainly not least, deputies Andrew Ejde and
John Stacy, wounded by gunfire, were presented law enforcement’s
purple heart medal and the medal of courage.

The National Sheriffs’ Association’s Award of the Medal of
Valor, was also presented to Ejde, McDonald and Stacy.

Police officers have a reputation for being
tough. But over the past week, I’ve heard several cops wax
nostalgic about the departure of a dear colleague: The Ford Crown
Victoria.

The “crown vic,” for short, has become, in its three decades, a
sine qua non of American police departments. But Ford has decided
it’s time for the model to accept its pension and gold watch,
according to an article in the
Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

“It is a sad day,” said Kitsap County Undersheriff Dennis
Bonneville. “The old crown vic has served law enforcement well for
many years.”

Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer called the crown vic law
enforcement’s longtime “warhorse.”

“The Crown Vic was probably the best patrol car used by law
enforcement agencies ever,” echoed Mason County Chief Deputy Dean
Byrd. “It was bulletproof and durable. It was agile and large
enough to house all of the equipment necessary for a deputy or
officer to do his or her job.”

Poulsbo Police Sgt. Bob Wright said his department had been
expecting the crown vic’s departure — and had even found something
they liked a little better a few years back, gas prices be darned:
an SUV.

“In 2003, we started to move from sedans to a more versatile
police vehicle, a four wheel drive Ford Explorer which was built on
a truck frame. The vehicle cost was nearly the same as the Crown
Vic.

The four wheel drive turned out to be the best value for the
money. The vehicles could go anywhere which is especially valuable
in a City that is built on hills and gets some very bad weather in
the winters. Prior to this we were having to chain up and
down police cars daily and breaking lots of tire chains during
response to emergencies.”

There’s also the factor that law enforcement officers are
increasingly tasked with carrying more and more equipment, he
pointed out.

If history tells us anything, the police car of the future — in
America at least — will probably be a Ford. The Crown Victoria held
70 percent of the market for police vehicles last year, according to the
Star-Tribune article.

AEDs, which can help restart the heart muscle, are by all
accounts wonderful pieces of technology, but they are pricey at
around $1,000 per unit. Suquamish PD got them using a federal grant
available to tribal police departments.

Will the rest of the county’s agencies join in? I polled other
agencies and the answer was no.

Port Orchard: “We have one in city hall,” said Port Orchard
Police Chief Al Townsend. “That’s about it.”

But Kitsap County Sheriff’s Spokesman Scott Wilson notes that
more AEDs are on the way to the county, even if they’re not in
patrol cars:

“The sheriff’s office has obtained grant money administered
through the Department of Homeland Security (Region 2),” Wilson
wrote me in an email. “These are funds dedicated, for all Kitsap
County law enforcement agencies, for the purchase and deployment of
AEDs.”

“The AEDs will be placed in / on:

All law enforcement buildings / offices (that need them)

Select law enforcement vehicles, such as the RV mobile command
post, the SWAT team vehicle, BPD major crimes unit vehicle,
etc.

All marine patrol boats (every agency that has them).

“All told, there should be about 30 AEDs purchased and
deployed,” Wilson wrote.

Here’s the rest of the press release from the Suquamish Police
Department, including some facts about cardiac arrest:

The Suquamish Police Department is pleased to announce that all
officers have been issued Automatic External Defibrillators.
The Phillips “Heartstart” AED’s were purchased using a Department
of Justice Tribal Resources Grant Program.

AED’s have proven to be a valuable tool for saving lives.
While we have outstanding Fire and Medical response in North Kitsap
County, there are some locations and circumstances where Law
Enforcement officers are closer to the scene of a sudden cardiac
arrest, and can arrive minutes earlier. Our officers have
been trained in the use of AED’s for years, but we were finally
able to obtain funding to equip every police officer with an AED
for their car.

The model that our department purchased will work on both adults
and children.

This new equipment will allow us to better serve all of the
7000+ residents who live on the Port Madison reservation. We
are particularly interested in protecting our community elders, and
keeping their knowledge and wisdom with us for many years to
come.

Some facts about Sudden Cardiac Arrest:

More people die from SCA than from breast cancer, prostate
cancer, AIDS, house fires, handguns and traffic accidents
combined.

Nearly 80 percent of all cardiac arrests occur in the home; the
majority are witnessed by someone who could potentially be a
lifesaver.

The underlying cause of SCA is not well understood. Many
victims have no previously reported history of heart disease, or if
heart disease is present, it has not functionally impaired
them.

50 percent of men and 63 percent of women who died from SCA had
not previously reported symptoms of heart disease.

SCA strikes both men and women. The average age of victims is
65; however, many of those who experience SCA are much younger—many
in their 30s and 40s.

Defibrillation is recognized as the definitive treatment for
ventricular fibrillation, the abnormal heart rhythm most often
associated with SCA. While CPR may help prolong the window of
survival, it cannot restore a normal cardiac rhythm.

For every minute that goes by without defibrillation, a cardiac
arrest victim’s chances of survival decrease by about 10 percent.
After 10 minutes without defibrillation, few attempts at
resuscitation are successful.

SCA survivors have a good long-term prognosis: 80 percent of
survivors are alive after one year and 57 percent after five
years.

The average National response time for emergency medical
services in a typical community is nine minutes.

Presently, the national SCA survival rate in the United States
is less than five percent.

The American Heart Association estimates that 40,000 more lives
could be saved annually in the U.S. alone if automated external
defibrillators (AEDs) were more widely available and could reach
victims more quickly.

Dog Meet, the state’s premier training conference for
search and rescue canines, is coming to Kitsap.

Handlers, instructors, and of course, the dogs themselves will
converge on the Kitsap County Fairgrounds Sept. 9-11, 2011. Grants
from the Planet Dog
Foundation and the American
Kennel Club fund the event, which is hosted by a different
search and rescue unit each year.

This year’s event is being hosted by All Breed Canine Search and Rescue
(ABCSAR), which is the K-9 arm of Kitsap County Explorer Search and
Rescue. For more information on the program or to become a member,
go to www.kitsapesar.com.

Search and rescue dog handlers travel from all over North
America to attend this annual conference, which is hosted by a
different Washington state SAR unit each year. This year’s event is
funded by generous grants from the Planet Dog Foundation, and the
American Kennel Club.

The theme of Dog Meet 2011 is “Saving Lives, One Sniff at a
Time.”

About 150 dog handlers are expected to attend, with the added
benefit of a boost for Silverdale-area restaurants and hotels.

“This is a great chance for both experienced and beginning dog
handlers to meet, share experiences, and receive some top-notch
training,” said Bruce Ramey, chairman of ABCSAR. “And how can you
not have a good time with 150 dogs around?”

Dog Meet 2011 will feature a number of internationally-known
instructors.

Kevin George, an expert in K9 behavior and motivation. He heads
the first volunteer SAR unit certified by the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police in the province of Alberta.

Andy Rebmann of K9 Specialty Search Associates, Kent, WA. Andy
has been involved in search work and K-9 training since 1972. He is
a retired trainer for Connecticut State Police. During his career,
he trained K-9 teams for patrol, narcotics, explosive, arson,
wilderness, disaster, water and cadaver work.

Marcia Koenig, also of K9 Specialty Search Associates, has been
involved in volunteer search dog work since 1972. She was a
founding member of the American Rescue Dog Association and the
Texas Unit of ARDA. She is a founding member of Northwest Disaster
Search Dogs and King County Search Dogs.

The conference will also take some time on Sunday, Sept. 11 to
honor the human and canine heroes of the World Trade Center
attacks.

ABCSAR members are all volunteers, as are most search and rescue
dog handlers in Washington State.

“We depend on these volunteers when someone goes missing,” said
Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer. “There is no sheriff’s office in
the state that could field the number of people and the specialized
skills necessary using paid staff.”

SAR dog handlers spend about 400 hours per year training on
weekends and at night to be ready when their local sheriff’s office
calls for assistance. Their dogs live with them as pets until the
call goes out and they respond as a team.

ABCSAR is grateful for the support of Planet Dog and AKC to help
make this the best Dog Meet ever held.

The Planet Dog Foundation is providing $7000 toward this year’s
Dog Meet. Since January 2006, the foundation has provided almost
$1,000,000 in cash grants and in-kind product donations to enable
more dogs help children and adults in need.

The American Kennel Club’s Companion Animal Recovery (CAR)
Canine Support and Relief Fund has provided $5000 in support of the
conference. The CAR Fund provides more than $400,000 annually to
not-for-profit animal shelters, search and rescue groups and
veterinary units that support animal rescue.

SAR volunteers are unpaid. Other than gasoline reimbursements
for actual missions, volunteers bear the cost of providing this
valuable service.

“This event is another example of how Kitsap County residents
take care of themselves, and others,” said Phyllis Mann, the
county’s director of Emergency Management. “I am constantly
impressed at how our local citizens step up when there is some need
to be filled.”

The era of holding up a cell phone to your ear while
driving in Washington
is over. Granted, it had been illegal for a couple
years, but beyond the reach of the cops if drivers were obeying all
other laws.

Will some continue to drive around talking and texting,
ultimately disregarding the law? I suppose, but judging by the
strong words from our local law enforcement leaders, I’d say it’s a
habit that’s going the way of the Dodo.

“In an effort to protect the public and cut accidents we will be
enforcing this law the day it goes into effect,” said Shawn
Delaney, deputy chief of the Poulsbo Police Department.

But even if it’s enforced from the get-go, Al Townsend, chief of
the Port Orchard Police Department, points out that his office is
not planning any type of emphasis patrols. A cell phone violation
will be weighed like any other.

“Officers will maintain the same discretion they have on any
traffic infraction as to whether they will stop and warn the driver
or write a citation,” he said.

But the police, too, have noticed this law has been extensively
covered in the press.

“The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is very much aware of the
extraordinary amount of media coverage this law has had so we do
not anticipate an education period for motorists violating this
law,” said Dean Byrd, Mason County Sheriff’s spokesman.

UPDATE: Monday, June 14: I heard back from Kitsap County Sheriff
Steve Boyer. Here are some of his observations:

“We are essentially on the same page with the (state) patrol.
Thanks to the media attention, the educational component is well
placed. As previously reported, even with the law enforcement
exemption, we have provided the essential tools for our people to
set a good example.

There will be those who want to argue; however, it is just
common sense (with a strong research foundation); too bad
legislation is required to modify human behavior. Besides, why
would good people want to risk hurting anyone? It was
interesting to me how many fewer people were using cell phones
today (Thursday, the first day of the law) than yesterday.”